What's Hot Today

News

Bill Simmons the sports guy with the magic touch. He practically reinvented sportswriting for the web at ESPN.com. He founded Grantland, a legendary (and now defunct) website. His podcast was a killer! So why was his HBO talk show Any Given Wednesday such an epic fail, canceled after just four months? Read on to find out.
No buzz
The premiere of Any Given Wednesday got people talking, not because of anything Simmons said, but because many viewers thought guest Ben Affleck was drunk when he went off on a tear about the New England Patriots. Unfortunately for Simmons, Afflecks spiel was pretty much the last time anyone discussed his show. ...Read More...
//www.thewrap.com/5-reasons-why-bill-simmons-any-given-wednesday-tanked-canceled-photos/

BREAKING: The clock has run out on Bill Simmons ' weekly HBO talk show. The premium channel has canceled Any Given Wednesday after just four months. The series, which will wrap its run next week, was part of a major exclusive multi-year, multiplatform deal HBO made with Simmons in June 2015, after ESPN opted not to renew his contract . HBO, which became Simmons exclusive TV home as part of last years deal, says it remains committed to him. "HBO is committed to Bill ...Read More...
//deadline.com/2016/11/bill-simmons-any-given-wednesday-canceled-1201848823/

Bill Simmons first talk show will stick close to the Massachusetts natives roots. HBO announced Friday that Simmons will interview fellow Boston sports fan Ben Affleck on the debut episode of Any Given Wednesday , the former ESPN writers new weekly talk show. Affleck will be joined by...
//feeds.ew.com/~r/entertainmentweekly/tv/coverage/~3/tLkwffZB2gE/bill-simmons-ben-affleck

Which TV series will your friends (and the entire internet) be talking about this week? Stay informed — or at least be able to fake it — with SideReel's weekly guide to The Most Important Shows on TV.
Any Given Wednesday With Bill Simmons (Series Premiere)
Wednesday at 10 p.m. on HBO
Why: Bill Simmons is a… polarizing figure. Some consider him a gifted communicator, while others think he's a petulant brat. But one thing is certain: the man is smart. When it comes to his arguments, he's an eloquent and persuasive speaker. And when it comes to business, he has made crappy situations work to his advantage. That certainly is the case with his break from ESPN and subsequent move to HBO. Simmons' weekly half-hour talk show will cover sports, certainly, but also a broader range of pop culture topics. Boasting interviews with notables as well as field segments and commentary, Simmons isn't aiming to revolutionize the format. But with a successful podcast and a new website taking off, he certainly knows how to create compelling content.
Prepare to talk about: Whether Simmons is more natural on camera now than he was on ESPN; his sure-to-be-controversial opinions about Hiddleswift.
Game of Thrones (Season Finale)
Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO
Why: Before the season began, fans wondered how the HBO series would fare once it was forced to veer from its source material. The answer, it turns out, is: just fine. This season has delivered deaths both depressing and celebrated, long-awaited reunions, old-lady realness, and some straight-up fire. Plus, there's been much less questionable violence against women. Sure, there are still plenty of complaints to be made. There are episodes when your favorite character will literally appear for five seconds (see: Daenerys, Episode 8 ). And if you were to piece together a single storyline you'd often have less than an episode's worth of material. Then there are the occasional lapses into soap territory (Cersei and Jaime’s exchanges). But Game of Thrones knows how to turn up the heat when it counts.
Prepare to talk about: How this is the longest episode ever (something every click-baity entertainment news outlet reported excitedly); that incredibly shocking/sad/justified death, probably.
Roadies (Series Premiere)
Sunday at 10 p.m. on Showtime
Why: In his first foray into television, Oscar winner Cameron Crowe presents an insider's look at the often bizarre lives of music's "unsung heroes." It's an interesting enough concept, and few people are as qualified to bring it to the screen as Crowe, whose time as a teenage music writer for Rolling Stone was portrayed beautifully in Almost Famous . (This could almost be a modern-day continuation of that story.) But the director and screenwriter hasn't exactly enjoyed creative consistency in recent years. (Did you see Aloha ?) So will he deliver here? The first episode is... pretty good. As expected, music is used expertly throughout. The requisite premium-cable nudity is present (all female, natch). Leads Luke Wilson and Carla Gugino have legit chemistry. And with executive producers Winnie Holzman ( My So-Called Life ) and J.J. Abrams ( Gone Fishin' ) in the mix, this has the potential to be both intelligent and heart-warming.
Prepare to talk about: The excellent musical moments; who inspired the plot points about musician freakouts (fingerprints on the piano was a Freddie Mercury pet peeve, according to Crowe).
T.J. DeGroat is the editor of SideReel. He does not like Bran . Follow him on Twitter .
div.post p {
text-align: justify;
}